Ekaterina Alexandrovskaya & Harley Windsor to train in Montreal

[victorskid]

As announced on her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/BjyN2HoDSEP/?taken-by=alexandrovskaya.k

They're going to Richard Gauthier & his team.

 

[mag]

Excellent news. Now, does Autumn Classic have a pair’s competition? Maybe they will start their season there?

 

[starrynight]

I see their SP will be choreographed by Julie Marcotte and their FS by Massimo Scali.

Who else trains with Richard Gauthier at the moment?

 

[misskarne]

Excellent news. Now, does Autumn Classic have a pair’s competition? Maybe they will start their season there?

Yes, I think so. Paris and Matthew did it a couple of times.

 

[barbarafan]

As announced on her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/BjyN2HoDSEP/?taken-by=alexandrovskaya.k

They're going to Richard Gauthier & his team.

So glad she is stilll skating...She looked miserable at their last competitions..I feared she might quit.

 

[aftershocks]

So glad she is stilll skating...She looked miserable at their last competitions..I feared she might quit.

Good luck to Katia & Harley. I hope they thrive under Gauthier/Marcotte.

Hopefully Julie will be able to find the right vehicle for them musically and choreographically, to help Katia project more and for them both to grow in their partnership. Harley right now is the supernova of this team in terms of on-ice charisma and flair. But they both just need some steady guidance in the right direction, as well as more experience and maturity which will come. It's normal to deal with growing pains as happened this past season, as they had a lot placed on their shoulders competitively.

 

[screech]

Who else trains with Richard Gauthier at the moment?

I think Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro are with him and Bruno. And doesn't he coach Castelli/Tran as well?

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

This team has all the technical tools to be amongst the best in the world.

Hopefully this move will provide them with programs to bring out their on - ice personalties more.

It sounds like the right time to shake things up with so many retirements and new teams on the horizon.

 

[aftershocks]

I think Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro are with him and Bruno. And doesn't he coach Castelli/Tran as well?

Castelli/Tran are no longer together. Mervin has recently 'unofficially' paired with Olivia Serafini (a U.S. skater). I don't think it's been announced yet. But Mervin has posted videos of them practicing. I would imagine Mervin will remain training with Gauthier/Marcotte, bringing his new partner along.

Cami Ruest & Drew Wolfe of Canada also train with Gauthier/Marcotte. And the North Korean pair have received coaching assistance from G/M. I believe there's a Japanese pair who train with G/M as well.

 

[victorskid]

I think Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro are with him and Bruno. And doesn't he coach Castelli/Tran as well?

Castelli & Tran are no more - Mervin is training with another partner in California.

There are a number of international pairs training with Richard & Bruno or with Bruno at his other rink.

 

[Seerek]

There was certainly a "slot" open with Duskova and Bidar not continuing on, so this move to Gauthier from the next youngest team currently in Senior pairs makes a lot of sense to me, imo.

ETA: (By 'slot', I meant that Anna/Martin had Richard Gauthier as coach prior to their split).

 

[aftershocks]

Castelli & Tran are no more - Mervin is training with another partner in California.

There are a number of international pairs training with Richard & Bruno or with Bruno at his other rink.

Yep, I already mentioned that Castelli/Tran broke up and Mervin is with a new partner. But I didn't realize Mervin made the decision to train in California, so thanks for the information.

Mervin was adamant about remaining with Gauthier/Marcotte when he and Marissa first paired. But I suppose Mervin really wants to continue skating, and he was willing to compromise re coaches and training location. Plus he's likely some way into the U.S. citizenship application process. Becoming a U.S. citizen won't mean he can't still retain his Canadian citizenship.

 

[misskarne]

So glad she is stilll skating...She looked miserable at their last competitions..I feared she might quit.

Way to project emotions onto a skater who was doing both Junior and Senior in the Olympic season and was probably exhausted...

 

[starrynight]

Katia gave an interview at Worlds where she said how tired they were. Last season was mammoth for them, because they had to be at peak in September to qualify for the Olympics at Nebelhorn and then had to rally for the JGP, JGPF and then 4CC, Olympics and Worlds. Not too many skaters did that kind of schedule. Not to mention the travel from Australia to anywhere is a much bigger deal.

Katia and Harley have said that from here, their big focus is presentation. I think a big part of that will be getting programs they can connect with and also getting more experience so they don't have to visibly concentrate on the elements in the programs. But that's hardly an unusual thing for young skaters coming out of juniors.

Based on what I know of Katia (just through interviews and articles) it's extremely unlikely that she would want to quit. Didn't a Russian coach say that she would actually pull Harley back onto the ice to do more training?

 

[Ishild]

Katia gave an interview at Worlds where she said how tired they were. Last season was mammoth for them, because they had to be at peak in September to qualify for the Olympics at Nebelhorn and then had to rally for the JGP, JGPF and then 4CC, Olympics and Worlds. Not too many skaters did that kind of schedule. Not to mention the travel from Australia to anywhere is a much bigger deal.

This is one of the reasons why I do believe there should be a clear split between the categories. You are either a senior or a junior, no jumping back and forth.

Good luck to Katia and Harley in Montreal, I'm looking forward to see what Bruno and his team can do for them.

 

[misskarne]

This is one of the reasons why I do believe there should be a clear split between the categories. You are either a senior or a junior, no jumping back and forth.

Such a split would be ruinous for smaller countries with limited depth. Like Australia.

 

[starrynight]

It would not have made any difference had they done seniors only, it would have been a similar schedule. For example, Shoma Uno did just as big a schedule in seniors. Lombardia, Japan Open, Skate Canada, Grand Prix Final, Japanese Nationals, Four Continents, Olympic Team, Olympic individual and Worlds.

I suspect for those teams who needed to use Nebelhorn to qualify, the process of getting into peak fitness very very early and needing to maintain that through to the end of March was the really hard part.

 

[misskarne]

It would not have made any difference had they done seniors only, it would have been a similar schedule. For example, Shoma Uno did just as big a schedule in seniors. Lombardia, Japan Open, Skate Canada, Grand Prix Final, Japanese Nationals, Four Continents, Olympic Team, Olympic individual and Worlds.

I suspect for those teams who needed to use Nebelhorn to qualify, the process of getting into peak fitness very very early and needing to maintain that through to the end of March was the really hard part.

The other issue was the timing of the pairs JGP, which meant Katia and Harley did Nebelhorn and a JGP back to back. They also did 4CC close to the Olys. At least they didn't do JW and SW together this year. That would have been too much.

 

[barbarafan]

Castelli/Tran are no longer together. Mervin has recently 'unofficially' paired with Olivia Serafini (a U.S. skater). I don't think it's been announced yet. But Mervin has posted videos of them practicing. I would imagine Mervin will remain training with Gauthier/Marcotte, bringing his new partner along.

Cami Ruest & Drew Wolfe of Canada also train with Gauthier/Marcotte. And the North Korean pair have received coaching assistance from G/M. I believe there's a Japanese pair who train with G/M as well.

I think the North Koean team is with Bruno.Justine Brasseur is with Richard Gauthier as well as lots of young unknown teams.

 

[barbarafan]

Way to project emotions onto a skater who was doing both Junior and Senior in the Olympic season and was probably exhausted...

As u r doing here. I am just glad they r continuing as they are one of my fav. up and coming pair teams.

 

[Coco]

What's going to happen to Castelli? Another super talented US pairs girl without a partner

 

[Cleo1782]

What's going to happen to Castelli? Another super talented US pairs girl without a partner

Perhaps she retired? She has had a very long career, an Olympic bronze medal, 2 national titles, several National medals, etc. She is not old, but she is not super young either. She may be satisfied with her accomplishments as her and Tran never really did reach their potential, he still isn't a citizen, and 4 years is a long commitment. Besides, I noticed her jumps this year were uncharacteristically off. Maybe she was fighting injury as well.

 

[hanca]

This is one of the reasons why I do believe there should be a clear split between the categories. You are either a senior or a junior, no jumping back and forth.

Good luck to Katia and Harley in Montreal, I'm looking forward to see what Bruno and his team can do for them.

The trouble is that there isn’t enough spots for GP events, and if skaters can’t do both junior and senior events, they will never make up enough points to climb up the standings so that they get GP guaranteed. How do you propose that the juniors who want to be seniors the next season earn the points? Katia and Harley did not manage to get their GP spots even though they won junior worlds. So doing both was the only option to ensure that would have enough points for the next season. It is so much easier for countries who organise GP events and have three host spots. They can give chance to fresh seniors who wouldn’t get it otherwise.

 

[kwanfan1818]

First, JGP, JGPF, and Jr. Worlds scores count for the SB Top 24 list. Only 12 skaters across all four disciplines will earn spots from the WS list only; most that didn't earn spots at Worlds will earn theirs from the Top 24 SB list. Alexandrovskaya/Windsor are Top 24 SB from Nebelhorn and are guaranteed a GP spot from that: they didn't need any Jr. WS points to be guaranteed a spot.

The ISU could guarantee one spot to the JGPF champion and Jr. Worlds podium, instead of just making it optional for hosts to select them (if they're not already guaranteed any from Top 24 SB and/or Top 24 WS. The ISU could allow skaters to use Junior WS points for their first senior season, a one-time boost, but after that, they would have to use one or the other.

 

[hanca]

First, JGP, JGPF, and Jr. Worlds scores count for the SB Top 24 list. Only 12 skaters across all four disciplines will earn spots from the WS list only; most that didn't earn spots at Worlds will earn theirs from the Top 24 SB list. Alexandrovskaya/Windsor are Top 24 SB from Nebelhorn and are guaranteed a GP spot from that: they didn't need any Jr. WS points to be guaranteed a spot.

The ISU could guarantee one spot to the JGPF champion and Jr. Worlds podium, instead of just making it optional for hosts to select them (if they're not already guaranteed any from Top 24 SB and/or Top 24 WS. The ISU could allow skaters to use Junior WS points for their first senior season, a one-time boost, but after that, they would have to use one or the other.

I thought they give GP events not only based on SB score, but also on world standings. So it does make sense someone doing both juniors and seniors for a season or two to get enoughh points in world standings to get themselves the GP event. If I recall correctly, before this past season started a year ago, Alexandrovskaya/Windsor actually did need the extra points. They may not need them now, but there was the need to get back to JGP this past season because they were not getting GP. I believe they said it in some interview that they wanted to move to seniors (fully seniors) but did not get the GP.

 

[barbarafan]

I thought they give GP events not only based on SB score, but also on world standings. So it does make sense someone doing both juniors and seniors for a season or two to get enoughh points in world standings to get themselves the GP event. If I recall correctly, before this past season started a year ago, Alexandrovskaya/Windsor actually did need the extra points. They may not need them now, but there was the need to get back to JGP this past season because they were not getting GP. I believe they said it in some interview that they wanted to move to seniors (fully seniors) but did not get the GP.

So does it make sense they may get Skate Canada International this yr?

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

So does it make sense they may get Skate Canada International this yr?

Or, Cup Of Booby Prize, Audi China Cup.

 

[kwanfan1818]

Skaters are guaranteed one spot for Top 24 SB and/or Top 24 WS. They're not guaranteed a spot for each. Last year, A/W were neither. This year they are both. Their Jr. points didn't help them last year, and for qualifying for GP, they are irrelevant this year, because they're already guaranteed one for Top 24 SB. If anything, it could be a disadvantage to have the WS points to bump a host pick out of the last group.